Prices getting nuttier and nuttier

[Snapolit1]

Memorabilia has always been a little crazy on pricing but lately seems to be totally unhinged.

I see photos selling for $25,000 on eBay that I know wouldn't get $5,000 at a reputable highly publicized auction.

The usual stuff where someone buys a photo for $2,500, lists it for $15,000, and then marks it down "on sale" to $12,000. And basically the same photo is sitting at an AH and hasn't gotten a starting bid of a few thousand.

Same ticket stub is $3,000 or $15,000.

Items in some of the recent batch of auctions that are truly extraordinary and historically significant seem (so far) to be getting a tepid response.

Weird times. Would be like walking to two different car dealerships and the same car is $20,000 or $80,000.

[Mark17]

Originally Posted by Snapolit1

Memorabilia has always been a little crazy on pricing but lately seems to be totally unhinged.

I see photos selling for $25,000 on eBay that I know wouldn't get $5,000 at a reputable highly publicized auction.

For the stuff I chase, I would agree pricing is crazy, but often in the other direction. Consider this:

https://www.hugginsandscott.com/cgi-...l?itemid=65308

All original pre-war flannel of George Case, Washington Senators, went for $3,000 including BP. How does an 80+ year jersey (which also included a matching pair of pants) go for that little? Fully tagged, player name and year stitched into it, and name also stitched into the pants.

A cool thing about it is that a small patch was cut from the back tail, which was done in the day to repair pants that were torn or badly worn. Since Case led the league in SB that year (and the 2 preceding years, plus the 2 following years) his uniform pants must've taken a real beating. So the missing material from the jersey tail makes sense, and serves as even more evidence of game use by Case.

Anyway, how can such an artifact cost so much less than many, many cards and photos?

[Snapolit1]

Damn that’s nice. Like I said, some amazing cool memorabilia somehow seems to fly under the radar at times. Yeah, I will take that over another card any day, all day.

Lelands has some amazing memorabilia ending tomorrow. Look at this cool item currently under $1000. Damm. (Not my item or anyone I know . . . .)

https://auction.lelands.com/bids/bidplace?itemid=115212

[bigfanNY]

Part of the price variations is due to the number of Auctions and the large number of lots in each. I used to thumb through every lot in 2 or 3 auctions in the spring and Fall. Now I just search for specific items on my want list. I just saw a program close in an auction for less than half its current bid in another. Makes no sense unless collectors just didn't see both. REA, Lelands, Mile High, Heritage Hunt and many others ..... All have massive auctions running it is difficult to track.
I posted in another thread about a significant Ticket that had sold for over 80k in October and then 20k in January. Add to that the quick changes in the "Debut Ticket" market. Once collectors saw the huge numbers the very quickly went to there collections and checked Stubs vs dates. And the market quickly saw increased supply. Verified easily by the rise in PSA population reports.
Overall the market for Memorabilia seems to be off the lows seen in December and January but it will always have bigger swings than cards and other items that sell more regularly. Eventually a better faster way to search across all these auctions will present itself. Will I pay gor the privilege...I dont know.

[mrreality68]

It also does not help that their is a lot of new buyers with no real experience so they are bidding/buying on things they do not know about and memorabilia is a lot harder to price value wise compared to graded cards

[jimjim]

I collect tickets and a few sellers like to price their items for crazy high amounts on eBay and just let them sit until some rookie or person with deep pockets that doesn’t care about how much they spend grabs it. Or they price it crazy high with a best offer acting like they’re giving someone a deal. Not hard to do 10 minutes of research but to each their own. The problem is once it sells everybody thinks that is the new going rate for the item and wants that same amount. Jacks up the price across-the-board.

[mightymickof56]

Alot of ebay sellers are operating museums and nothing more with their inflated prices. Some items are three four or five times full retail. I’m not sure if that is ignorance of valuations or what but many game used items have sat for months. Years even. Ever notice there are few true no reserve auctions anymore? My personal overpriced ebay favorite is the 98 braves keith lockhart jersey for $311. It would be a miracle if it brought 100 if listed in a true auction. Its been for sale for years and is a major addition to ebay museums…

[jbsports33]

I really appreciate the feedback on this post, memorabilia seemed to the better deal the last 5 years or so – Bats, gloves photos and even some paper. Now I am seeing some really high prices for some items that are just crazy, especially vintage photos. Vintage pre-war cards are still in the lead for most ridiculous prices – just look at some of the REA results. At least on the memorabilia it is still better than cards! Thanks

[Snapolit1]

Originally Posted by jbsports33

I really appreciate the feedback on this post, memorabilia seemed to the better deal the last 5 years or so – Bats, gloves photos and even some paper. Now I am seeing some really high prices for some items that are just crazy, especially vintage photos. Vintage pre-war cards are still in the lead for most ridiculous prices – just look at some of the REA results. At least on the memorabilia it is still better than cards! Thanks

A bunch of very well known ebay flippers on photos. Collectors too, but always buying and selling. But I don't see them selling very much. Sometimes they mark their photos "on sale" to only 250% what they paid for it two months ago at RMY.

[homerunhitter]

on the autograph side, the prices are ridiculous compared to just a couple years ago. as mentioned above, when some idiot prices his card super high, then the next person listing that item thinks that is what the card is worth so they then list it at a super inflated price too. an example, there is a card ive been looking to buy that sells on average for $300 on a good day. some clueless piece of, listed the same card now for $900! so guess what the next seller listing it for lists it for? yep, $900 too! (the blind sheep following the blind sheep theory) now this one time $300 card (its true worth and value) cant be touched for less than $900 because one person "decided" to list it for $900 and now everyone else is listed it for that much because they see how much the first seller listed it for! geez!